Walking Disaster
by Song Of A Free Heart
Summary: A certain red head moves into the apartment down the hall from Eret. And one thing's for sure: his life will never be the same. Collection of drabbles for my Apartment AU.
1. Stubborn Streak

**Yes, I know I already have a Mereta modern AU. Or three... But I needed another one. Yes, needed.**

 **Dedicated to Eva Maverx, who helped with the creation of this thing.**

Stubborn Streak

Eret hadn't paid much attention to the red headed girl who moved into the apartment down the half from his. With her lion's made of red-orange curl's, she was hard to miss, whether he saw her in the hall, the parking lot, the college campus, or anywhere else in town. But as it was, he had other things to worry about.

Right up until the day he came home from the gym one morning and found the stairwell blocked.

He had been jogging down the sidewalk, thinking about what he needed to do before he left for work. But he came to a stop when he reached the stairs to find a sofa blocking the path. And the redhead, glaring at the furniture as if that might somehow get the thing up three flights of stairs, to the second floor. Actually, with a glare like that, Eret was almost surprised the laws of physics didn't break for her. He would hate to be on the receiving end of that look.

Still, he couldn't help that _she's crazy_ was the first thought that passed across his mind as she went around the couch, lifting one end to get it up on the stairs.

When she caught sight of him watching, he found out exactly what it was like to be on the receiving end of that glare.

And he would rather had been pretty much anywhere else.

"Whot?" she asked. Her accent was thick even in that one word, though he wasn't sure if it was Irish or Scottish. Whatever it was, it paired perfectly with her hair.

"Do you need help?" he offered, when she looked back to the couch.

Her glare snapped back to him. "No."

Eret quirked an eyebrow as she dragged the love seat a few more inches. One end was now propped on the third step. And for the life of him, he couldn't see how this was going to work.

"Can I get around, then?" he asked. "I have to get ready for work."

Her grunt sounded vaguely like a positive.

He tried to step around the couch, but it was too close to the railing, so he ended up climbing over the couch back. He muttered an apology, but doubted it made a difference.

When he passed her, she didn't even look over at him.

A little over an hour later, when he came back down, she was still there. He was impressed that she had gotten a few steps higher... but the progress was miniscule considering how long she had been at it.

She stepped back to let him climb over the thing again, without saying anything.

Eret paused at the bottom of the stairs, glancing back. "Are you sure—"

"Ah'm fine!"

He held up his hands in defense. "Okay."

Yup. Crazy.

Work was so slow that, as time dragged on, he started wondering how far she had gotten. Even trying to calculate if there was anyway she could possibly get the thing up the stairs alone. (The answer was no.) How long would she keep at it before she gave up?

After a couple hours, when things didn't pick up, he was sent home.

He managed to get a parking spot right by the stairs, so as soon as he pulled up he saw the couch on the stairs. The red head now lay on the cushions, an arm draped over her eyes. For all her fire, it looked as though she had finally given up. Even her curls seemed a little limp.

She lifted her arm when she heard him come up, glancing over before she closed her eyes again.

"If yoo step on me, I'll tear your foot off," she said.

"Charming," Eret said. "Get off."

"Don't tell me what t'—HEY!"

When she made no move to get off, Eret sighed, and lifted the end of the couch up so quickly she was almost thrown off the seat.

"Hey!"

"Get the other end," he said, nodding towards it.

"I don't need your help."

 _Yes, you do,_ he thought. But he suspected saying that outloud would be hazardous to his health. "Of course not. Got the other end."

He expected her to fight. But to his relief, she scrambled off the couch and lifted the other end.

"You ready?"

He thought she might be glaring at nothing in particular. But exhaustion had dulled the expression. "Aye."

Twenty minutes later they made it to the second floor, but they only stopped when they reached her door. She let got with one hand to push it open. In the narrow hallway, it took come maneuvering to get it through the door. But neither of them slammed a finger, so he decided it qualified as a success."

"I can get it from here," she said, as soon as they were through the door.

Eret shook his head. "Where does it go?"

She sighed, but lead him to the back wall of the living room, where they set the couch down.

Eret let out a sigh of relief as he let go of the couch and stood up straight. He rubbed his shoulder, which had already been sore from his workout that morning. Now the muscle felt more like jelly than a muscle. He was going to feel that in the morning.

Without meaning to, he looked around the apartment. The layout was a flipped version of his own, though the windows were in the living room, instead of the kitchen. The bedroom and bathroom were down a short hallway.

In one corner, by the sliding glass door, a bow and a quiver of arrows leaned against the wall, under a shelf full of trophies. Everything else in the room seemed to be an after though.

"I've got it from here," the red head said. It was an obvious dismissal.

Well, no good deed goes unpunished, he thought, shrugging as he went back to his own apartment.

#

He didn't see the red head for a few days, save for a glimpse through his window, which looked out over the parking lot.

To his surprise, she came up to him on campus. He sat at one of the picnic tables in the courtyard, waiting for his next class.

"Hi."

He looked up to see her standing across the table, thumbs hooked in the belt loops of her dark skinny jeans. She looked uncomfortable, her eyes fixed on the table top.

"Hi." He wasn't sure what else to say.

"Thanks," she said. "For the other day."

From the way she said the word, he got the impression she didn't say it very often. (He wondered if the word "sorry" was even in her vocabulary.)

Eret shrugged. "No big deal."

She nodded, but didn't turn away. "Can I buy you lunch?"

He paused, trying to figure out if she was asking him out, or if it was part of her gratitude. The latter was probably a safe guess.

"Sure." He held out his right hand. "I'm Eret, by the way."

Her handshake was firm, her fingers calloused. From her bowstring, probably.

"Merida," she said.


	2. Skullcrusher

**I have so many drabbles I want to write for this AU, it's overwhelming. And when I'm overwhelmed, I don't get writing done. It's a vicious cycle.**

 **But I want to spend the next couple chapters establishing the main cast for this AU. Like Skullcrusher, who my mom says is her favorite part of this story. He was Eva Maverx's idea... as we pretty much this whole AU. XD**

 _Skullcrusher_

Eret was glaring at the blank piece of paper that was _supposed_ to be his English essay (and was due in two days) when Skullcrusher appeared to meow at him.

The scarred grey tabby sat by the kitchen wall, tail twitching back and forth across the carpet. His one good eye – vivid green, and annoyingly intelligent – was leveled on Eret with clear expectation.

He still wasn't sure why Hiccup though that "getting his life together" meant he needed a cat. Or any pet for that matter. Being responsible for another living creature seemed like the opposite of what Eret had needed at the same. It still wasn't something he needed. Especially a cat Valka couldn't keep in the shelter because he kept attacking anyone who came close to him.

"You can look after each other," Hiccup had said.

Right. "You're the only person I can convince to take him," more like.

When he had done his community service at the shelter, he had been one of the few people who could get close to the problem cat. Not because Skullcrusher liked him – but because he tolerated Eret's presence more than most others. He tolerated Hiccup and Valka, too. But they both had pets already, and Hiccup's black cat Toothless probably wouldn't take well to sharing his human.

Thankfully, the cat usually kept to himself, hiding in the closet, or under the bed, or behind the couch, until he needed something. He and Eret coexisted, comfortable just because it was no habit.

"What?" Eret asked. "Didn't I just feed you?"

Honestly, Skullcrusher's glare didn't affect him half as much as it had two weeks ago, before he'd been on the receiving end of Merida's. If the two met, the cat would probably cower for the first time in his life.

Before he could figure out what the cat needed, there was a knock on the door. Skullcrusher meowed again. Not demanding. More like… "about time".

Okay, if he was imagining things like that, Eret knew he was tired. Happy to leave the essay and the cat behind for a moment, he got up to answer the door way.

Merida stood in the hallway, barefooted, in cut off jeans and an oversized tshirt, her hair its usual mess of curls.

"Can I borrow a screwdriver?" she asked, before he could give a greeting.

He had been trying to figure why she was at his door this time – and one of his guesses had been that she wanted to borrow something. Especially since she had run up to him on campus a few days earlier to "borrow" five dollars. A few days before that she had needed a pen. Well, at least she didn't want him to fix something. He wasn't sure where she had gotten the impression that he was her personal handyman.

"What kind?" he asked.

"Phillips." She knew her tools. A pleasant surprise.

"Sure. Come on in." He pushed the door open for her as he headed into the kitchen, where he kept his tools. From the corner of his eye he saw her pause on the threshold, looking around his living and dining room appraisingly. It must have met her standards, because she stepped in.

Skullcrusher meowed again.

"Hush," Eret muttered, opening the cupboard above the fridge.

"I didn't know you had a cat."

He looked over to see that Meirda had crouched down, holding a hand out to Skullcrusher. That alone impressed him. Heather had always refused to go anywhere near the cat.

What surprised him most, though, was the fact that Skullcrusher was actually walking over to her. Hesitantly. Still appraising her. But approaching her. Eret watched, stunned, as the cat sniffed at her fingertips… then bowed his head so Merida could pet him. That had never happened.

Merida grinned, totally oblivious to his stare as she stroked Skullcrusher's head, scratching behind his ears. She made a sound that wasn't quite a coo, but was sweeter than anything he had expected to come out of someone who could glare like that. Skullcrusher head butted her palm, pressing forward to rub up against her knee.

"What happened to him?" she asked, looking over at Eret, without removing her hand from the cat.

"He was already scarred when they brought into the shelter my friend's mom runs."Eret said, finally looking away from the anomaly that was Merida and getting his bag of tools from the cupboard. "They couldn't keep him, since he kept getting into fights. He tolerated me, so I got stuck with him."

Merida snickered. "You don't seem like a cat person."

"I'm not," he admitted. Unzipping the bag, he pulled out the screwdriver. "But Hiccup's… persuasive."

"Hiccup, as in Hiccup Haddock? The stunt rider?" Merida asked.

Eret nodded, at once surprised she knew of him, and at the same time not.

"That one. I met him in the hospital when he lost his foot."

"What were you in the hospital for?"

Eret subconsciously reached up to rub the left side of his chest, feeling the ridges of scar tissue under the red fabric of his tshirt. Phantom pain ghosted through the nerves as the memory flashed though his mind. When he realized what he was doing he dropped his hand quickly, holding out the screwdriver to her as he pushed aside the memories.

"Do I want to know what you're doing with this?"

Merida rolled her eyes. "What do you think?"

"That's what scares me," he admitted, though the corner of his mouth quirked in a grin.

She seemed to like his answer, if her smirk was any indication. "I had to get a new bookshelf, and I can't find my toolkit."

Eret nodded.

After a few more moments of petting Skullcrusher, who had taken to walking circles and rubbing up against her, Merida stood up. "See ya later."

"I do need that back!" he called, just as she started to close that door.

"Yeah, yeah." The door closed solidly behind her.

Skullcrusher looked… forlorn as he stared at the door. He meowed again.

Eret stared at the cat, trying to figure out if this was all a bizarre dream. And if not… what was so special about Merida that she could do what neither Hiccup or Valka could do, and get Skullcrusher to like her? Not tolerate her. Actually _like_ her.

He crouched down carefully, holding a hand out to Skullcrusher. Just for the heck of it.

The cat looked at him, looked at his hand, then back at Eret with a look that clearly said "who do you think you are?" After another look at the door, realizing that Merida wasn't coming back, Skullcrusher turned away, back towards the hall. And whatever corner of Eret's bedroom he had taken up residence in lately.

Okay, so the cat hadn't suddenly decided to be friendly.

"What's so special about her?" Eret asked.

Skullcrusher didn't bother with an answering meow, and Eret was left more baffled than he had been in a long time. It couldn't just because Merida was a girl. Skullcrusher didn't like Astrid. And he _definitely_ didn't like Heather – though that was a mutual thing. She had suggested more than once that he should consider losing the cat.

Maybe it was the Scottish accent.

Or maybe because she was just as much a force to be reckoned with as the cat. Kindred, angry spirits, or whatever. It was too much for his brain to try and comprehend.

He went back to (trying to) write his essay. But he wasn't doing much better than he had on his first attempt. Before he knew it, the door of his apartment opened. His head jerked up in surprise, and he saw Merida come it.

"I know for a fact you can knock," he said, biting back annoyance at the incasion. "You did it earlier."

Merida rolled her eyes. "You said you wanted your screwdriver back." She held up the tool as she came over and set it down on the table. "And here's the five dollars I borrowed the other day."

He looked at the folded up five dollar bill she set on the table, next to the screwdriver. When he had handed it to her, he had fully expected to never see that money again. And figured that, if he wanted his screwdriver back, he would have to go after it in a week or two.

Skullcrusher mewled, seeming to appear out of nowhere to rub against Merida's leg. She bent down, scooping him up before Eret could get out a warning that the cat tended to scratch anyone who tried. No flash of claws. No cry of pain. No blood. Like there was every time Eret had to pick him up.

The cat settled into Merida's hold, looking down right smug. And Eret thought he heard purring.

In almost three years, he had never heard Skullcrusher purr.

Well, this day just wouldn't stop.

"He never lets anyone hold him," he said, watching girl and cat. It must be some "souls connected by anger issues" thing. That had to be the only explanation.

Merida hummed, scratching Skullcrusher behind the ears.

He continued to stare, not even bothering to try and hide it. He couldn't.

"Do you wanna split a pizza?" he asked, finally. Not entirely sure why… but what the heck. It was one of those days. "I was gonna order one for dinner."

"Sure."


	3. 1 am

**Thank you for all your wonderful reviews on this story!**

 _1 am_

Well, she was knocking on the door, at least.

True, that was probably because the door was _locked_ … but, since he was half asleep, he had a minor appreciation for the fact she was knocking. Pounding, actually.

Then he remembered that it was one in the morning.

He assumed it was Merida, at least. Who else would be pounding on his door at one in the morning?

"Com'on, Eret. I need your help."

Of course she did.

Eret groaned, rolling onto his back as he rubbed his face.

"Why me?" he muttered, looking up at the ceiling.

He heard Skullcrusher passing across the carpet. Then a loud, demanding meow. Because, obviously, the cat was going to take Merida's side. And, because Eret hadn't jumped up to help her, he was clearly a terrible person.

Eret looked over at the cat, glaring.

"I know you're in there!"

Where else would he be at one in the morning? (Okay, a college student home at one in the morning was kind of strange, he guessed.)

He pushed back the blankets of his bed, grabbing a tshirt and pulling it on out of habit as he headed for the front door. If there was any mercy, her latest problem would be something simple, so he could get back to sleep. His alarm would be going off in less than five hours, and he had only gotten into bed a little after midnight.

Pulling the door open, he squinted against the light in the hallway as he looked at Merida. She was dressed in what he guessed were her pajamas: a black tank top over dark green shorts.

"What did I ever do to you?" he asked.

"My internet's not working," she said, not bothering with his question. "And this paper's due today."

"What do you mean: not working?" Skullcrusher brushed by him, trotting out the door to rub against Merida's ankles.

"Hey, Skullcrusher." She crouched down to pick the cat up. "I mean: it's not working. The connection disappeared."

"Did you pay your bill?"

Merida and Skullcrusher gave him identical "what kind of stupid question is that?" looks. From what he had learned about Merida in the past month, it seemed like a pretty valid question, actually. But he couldn't hope to go up against girl and cat and hope to win.

"What do you expect me to do?" he asked instead.

"Fix it?"

Apparently that was supposed to be obvious.

Eret shook his head. "Do I look like I'm on the geek squad?"

She actually looked him over. Not checking him out – just looking as if the question had been serious. "Ya look like ya live in the gym."

"An hour a day." He muttered, rubbing his face. "Which is why I have to be up in five hours."

He opened the door all the way, waving her in. When he turned on the light, the stabbing pain in his eyes made him hiss.

His laptop was still on the table, where he had left it before going to bed.

Merida came in, closing the door before she came to stand beside him as he turned it on. "What are you doing?"

"If my internet's up, just use my laptop. We'll figure yours out tomorrow. If it's not, you'll have to figure something else out." He typed in his password, then turned back to his room. "It should come up automatically. I'm going back to bed."

"I have to get my USB drive."

He shrugged, not even looking back as he headed into his bedroom. As he collapsed into bed, he heard the door close behind Merida. Only for her to come back a couple minutes later. She murmured something to Skullcrusher, but he couldn't begin to guess what the words had been.

It was strange having someone else in the apartment. He didn't usually like having other people around when he was trying to sleep. His brain refused to relax when he could hear someone moving around. It was why he was glad they hadn't let him into the school dorms.

He didn't actually expect to get back into sleep while she was there – just hoped to read a point where his body went into some kind of half-sleep that might count as rest.

But within moments, he fell asleep to the sound of Merida typing.

#

6 am brought his merciless alarm – and a text from the equally merciless Astrid. She never missed a gym session, so he wasn't allowed to either. Even long distance, she did her job as his workout buddy.

 _I'm awake,_ he typed back. Then had to resist the urge to roll over and turn that into a lie.

Instead, he forced himself to roll out of bed and get up. He could sleep when he was dead, or something like that.

The light over the table was off – the first show of mercy he had received that morning. His laptop was exactly where it had been, though the top was down. He got into the kitchen, and halfway through making a protein shake, before his eyes landed on the couch.

Just enough light came through the windows for him to make out the figure curled until the blanket he kept on the couch for nights he passed out there. If there was any doubt who it was the fact Skullcrusher was curled up behind her bent knees was as telling as her red curls. The cat glared at him, since apparently the noise he was making had disturbed the cat's sleep.

Eret ignored Skullcrusher. Instead, he just stared at Merida. His tired brain was just trying to process how he felt about having her crashed on his couch. Considering the circumstances, maybe it wasn't strange. So he decided to let it go. He had to head out, anyway.

Grabbing his gym bag from its place by the door, he paused to glance back. There was a sneaking suspicion in the back of his mind that this wouldn't be the last time…


End file.
